South Carolina Judge Explains Why Greenville County Republican Party Lacks Standing to Challenge Open Primary

On August 30, U.S. District Court Judge Mary G Lewis issued this opinion in Greenville County Republican Party v Way, 6:10-1407. The 21-page opinion explains why the Greenville County Republican Party doesn’t have standing to challenge various South Carolina election laws that require parties to open their primaries to all voters, even when the party pays for the administration of the primary.

The judge had ruled from the bench on August 21 that the party lacks standing, and how she has explained her ruling. The decision does not mention the 1989 U.S. Supreme Court decision San Francisco County Democratic Party v Eu, a unanimous decision that struck down many California election laws that limited the freedom of political parties. Neither the state Democratic Party nor the state Republican Party had participated in that lawsuit, but the county party organizations that did participate were deemed to have standing. Thanks to Harry Kresky for the opinion.